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Exclusive: the science of Fantastic Four, with Michio Kaku

You might not immediately assume that a comic book movie about a human fireball, an invisible woman, a man with stretchable limbs and a living, breathing pile of rubble has much to do with the worlds of science.

Well... maybe it didn't, once (cosmic rays are real, but won't make you stretchy, rocky, or set you sustainably on fire). But the latest adaptation of Marvel's Fantastic Four, set for release on 6 August, takes the franchise into much more solid scientific ground.

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Whether it's theories of alternate dimensions, key to the Four's new origin story, or the machinations of invisibility, teleportation and wormholes, there is actually a fair amount of interesting concepts underpinning the fun superhero action.

In a series of four (... obviously) mini episodes, exclusive to WIRED, legendary physicist Michio Kaku tells us why there's more to the science of Fantastic Four than you may expect. There's also a healthy amount of new Fantastic Four footage contained within, which should whet your appetite for the movie.

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Fantastic Four, starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell, is out on 6 August

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Alternate Dimensions

In the new Fantastic Four film, the team travel to another "alternate and dangerous" universe, which alters their physical form. Sounds fantastical (no pun intended) -- but as Michio Kaku explains, there's good evidence to suggest other universes do in fact exist.

Invisibility

"The coolest thing about their powers, like invisibility, is that they didn't seem that far-fetched," Kaku says of the Fantastic Four, which he read as child. In the case of Sue Storm's invisibility, Kaku points out that metamaterials are a genuine area of interest for a real-life version of that superpower.

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Teleportation

Teleportation is a genuine prospect, Kaku points out -- both for matter and for information, using the principles of quantum entanglement. Scientists have already transported very small amounts of matter 98 miles, he points out.

Wormholes

How would humans travel very long distances in space or time? Possibly using wormholes -- which as Kaku explains, are one potential explanation for the creation of the universe.